ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, June 20, 1996 TAG: 9606200014
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOHN GRIESSMAYER STAFF WRITER
THE VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE may be the best-loved car in the world. Today, nearly 50 years after its introduction in America, it's as popular as ever with drivers and collectors. We'll introduce you to some of these devotees.
To Mark Noble, happiness is a well-tuned Beetle.
"When you've worked on your Beetle to get it just right, and you get out there to cruise around and the engine hums, you just know life is good."
In one form or another - from hump-backed Beetles to camper-buses to sporty Karmann Ghias - Volkswagens have been an important part of Noble's life for 26 years. What started out as an economic necessity - an inexpensive way to get from Point A to Point B - quickly became a passionate addiction.
"I bought my first Volkswagen - a used 1967 Beetle - when I was stationed in Puerto Rico with the Navy," he said. "Bugs were the car of choice on the island then, because they were cheap and easy to repair."
Noble, like millions of others, was impressed by the Beetle's odd, eye-catching body shape, the great gas mileage and the low-maintenance air-cooled engine. There was a feeling of fun involved in driving a Bug. Before he knew it, he was hooked.
After his first Beetle was stolen by "someone who decided they needed it more than I did," he went straight to the Volkswagen dealership and bought another one, a used 1966 Beetle. Since then, Noble figures he's owned more than 30 Beetles, Super Beetles, buses, campers, pick-ups and Ghias. Right now, 13 Volkswagens sit in the front yard of his Floyd County home like a herd of giant rainbow-colored turtles.
Noble keeps the fleet running himself, using the tricks he learned while working in a VW repair shop after college. He wasn't paid for his work, but he got hours of hands-on experience.
It can be time-consuming to keep all those cars in good driving condition, he said, but he admits that working on the VWs gives him a sense of peace.
"It sounds weird to say, but some of the most content times in my life were spent tinkering on my Bugs."
To many Volkswagen enthusiasts, Noble included, there's a feeling of security present when driving a Beetle. It all goes back, he said, to the brilliant engineering of the vehicle.
"The Beetle is a car that's both economical and fun, ugly and beautiful," he said. "It's a very well-designed car. There's just enough there to do the job well without overdoing it."
One aspect of the Beetle's design will be forever etched in Noble's memory.
Several years ago, he was moving into a new home using only his Beetle to transport everything he owned. As he drove down the road, his car bulging with lamps, clothes, dishes and a completely assembled 10-speed bicycle, he heard a strange noise and felt a sudden rush of air.
"When I pulled over to check out what happened, I found that the bike had been jammed in so tight that the back window had popped right out."
Looking back for what he was sure would be a pile of shattered glass on the highway, Noble couldn't locate the missing window at first. Then he saw it.
"The window was just hanging there, without even a scratch on it, stuck in the back bumper." It had slid down the gentle slope of the back deck lid and was safely nestled just 6 inches above the asphalt.
"I couldn't believe it. I just popped it right back and went on my way. If I was driving any other car, I'd have had a smashed back windshield on my hands."
This love and respect for the Volkswagen has been passed from Noble to his wife, Marysu, and his children. Ask him about his 23 year-old daughter, Wendy, and he'll proudly tell you that she recently purchased her own Volkswagens, two 1973 Super Beetles.
In fact, nearly everyone in the Noble household "has the fever," as he puts it. Noble says he'd much rather own a bunch of Beetles that his family can drive and enjoy than own an expensive and rarely driven show car. To the Nobles, Volkswagens, first and foremost, are a mode of transportation.
"When my kids first learned to drive, they took a different-colored Bug to school every day. I started them out early. ... Each of my children was brought home from the hospital in a Beetle."
Noble also shares his interest with the Roanoke Valley Volkswagen Club, which he serves as vice president. The club, which brings together daily VW drivers and show car enthusiasts for meetings and driving events, is different from most car clubs in its diversity.
"Most clubs attract a very narrow range of ages and types of people," Noble said. "We've got people in their 60s and teen-agers who don't even have their driver's licenses yet." The club philosophy states that owning a Volkswagen is not required for membership. Just loving VWs is good enough.
The club was started by Don Whitesell last year, but it already has 285 members. Although most of the members do own Volkswagens, some are still in the process of finding that perfect '72 Convertible or '51 split-window fixer-upper. Still others are "just along for the ride."
Noble sees his own love of Volkswagens as easy to understand because they've brought him so much happiness. He describes a bumper sticker popular at VW shows: It says, "Invest in Precious Metal" and has a VW symbol on it. "That's what they are to me," he said. "Precious metal."
When asked why he thought the rest of the world fell in love with the Volkswagen Beetle, Noble thought for a while.
"I really don't know what it is about these uncomfortable, banging and clanging little cars that fascinates people," he said. "But something happens when you get in a Beetle. It really grabs you.
"I know it grabbed me."
The Roanoke Valley Volkswagen Club meets on the first Monday of every month at the Top Rail Restaurant in Salem. For more information about the club, call Sandra Dearing at 389-8587.
LENGTH: Long : 111 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: PHILIP HOLMAN Staff 1. Mark and Marysu Noble (above)by CNBof Floyd County own more than a dozen Volkswagens 2. (several are
pictured below). ``It's an addiction,'' explains Marysu. 3.
``There's a 12-step program.'' color.